auramancer bunker build

my elementalist has been my main character since release day, but i've only done PvP on my thief, so i'm pretty new to elem in PvP. since the main elem thread that's stickied doesn't have a bunch of builds in it, i wanted to make a thread based on the type of build i'm looking to play and get as much info as i can on it.

i've heard good things about auramancers for elems, and that they can survive well as a bunker build. my main goal with my build is that i want to have a lot of survivability, and i want to provide support to any teammate around me. a little bit of dps would be nice too, but i understand that survivability and support comes at a cost, so i won't exactly be bursting people down.

i've heard that d/d is the best for these types of builds, which makes sense because of the auras it gives as well as the survivability options. if anybody else thinks there's a better alternative, though, such as d/f or whatever, please let me know.

what kind of build would i need for this, though? and signets or cantrips, armor (i'm guessing soldier armor/amulet?), etc. also, what sigils and runes would fit this best?

i'm guessing the build will be something like 10 in earth with protection for auras, 10 in air for swift/fury for auras, a bunch in water (auras to allies) and some in fire.

any advice, tips, or links to useful builds would be greatly appreciated.

my guild doesn't PvP much and i'm not able to run with anyone i know, so all i can do are the random matches. would that still work well for those too?

also, what is your reason for choosing Ether Renewal? i'm curious, since i literally never use it. lol.

Yeah it still works if you solo queue, its always good to ask in map chat to see if anyone is making a party for free tournaments, helps you get to know people and use proper tactics. Ether renewal is awsome to remove conditions on a very low cooldown. you see so many people using condition spamming builds at the moment

one last question....how durable is this build? can it actually bunker reasonably well in addition to the damage it seems like it'll be able to do? i notice you use the Valkyrie Amulet which adds toughness, and a full Divinity set would definitely help with durability. seems like it could survive well enough.

He does recommend Celestial Amulet + Berserker's Jewel for spvp in that guide... Is that what you are all using? It doesn't seem to make you tanky or to give you decent damage... lol

Its not what I use. I use Soldiers with Zerkers.

jthamind, on 18 December 2012 - 03:42 PM, said:

one last question....how durable is this build? can it actually bunker reasonably well in addition to the damage it seems like it'll be able to do? i notice you use the Valkyrie Amulet which adds toughness, and a full Divinity set would definitely help with durability. seems like it could survive well enough.

It is the best 1v1 class in the game, so it makes a great offpoint holder. It can bunker 1v2 for a fair amount of time, (20-30 seconds), but you'll need help soon if your enemy is decent. You can win 1v2 if you know the class however.

Yeah it still works if you solo queue, its always good to ask in map chat to see if anyone is making a party for free tournaments, helps you get to know people and use proper tactics. Ether renewal is awsome to remove conditions on a very low cooldown. you see so many people using condition spamming builds at the moment

I don't use ER because of the looonnnggggg channel. Cleansing flame and a little condi removal in the water tree is good enough for me.
Thishttp://gw2skills.net...UjoGbNuak1MgYKC
is my preferred build. Evasive Arcana is a seriously good trait.

biscuits, on 18 December 2012 - 04:18 PM, said:

I wouldn't exactly use it as a bunker build, change arcane 20 to final shielding, It's more of a damage dealer with reasonably good survivability.

I don't use ER because of the looonnnggggg channel. Cleansing flame and a little condi removal in the water tree is good enough for me.
Thishttp://gw2skills.net...UjoGbNuak1MgYKC
is my preferred build. Evasive Arcana is a seriously good trait.

Yeah, it makes a better roamer then bunker.

Yeah but you can still move around during the channeling and it removes pretty much every single condition on you

i'm going to try the Soldier's Amulet and see how i like it. before logging out, i put it on and got about 6,000 extra HP from it. the loss of healing from Valkyrie seems negligible, but i do wonder how much of a difference the critical damage loss is.

without the 15% crit damage from Valkyrie, i'm at 37 crit damage. with it, i'm at 52. is that a big difference for this build? i really don't know how those numbers are applied in an actual fight.

well, it seems to be crit damage and healing vs 6k extra HP. cause the power and toughness are the same on them iirc. since the healing difference seemed to be remarkably small (i could only look at the differences on the spells, though, since i didn't have time to actually test it), that's why i asked the question about the crit damage.

also, i had a 1v2 against a Guardian and a Warrior today. it lasted somewhere between 30-60 seconds, and i ended up downing the Warrior. i couldn't stomp him, though, because i wasn't aware enough to pop Mist Form to get the stomp before the Guardian revived him, and my health was getting kind of low. they eventually killed me after the Warrior was back up, but since this is only my second day of playing PvP on my elem, i was pretty damned proud of myself. i still have a lot to learn, though. i need to use my auras more and not stay so stationary. i also need to be better at reacting with which spells are best in the heat of the battle instead of just using something because it's not on CD. but i'm slowly learning.

change the weapon sigils to whatever you like really, I normally use energy/battle

I like this one and would like to use it on my PvE build but I've never tried 'translating' stats before. Could anyone help me out here? I understand there's no direct process for PvP-2-PvE because of the amulets, but is it possible to get something fairly close?

i'm not familiar with all the types of armor sets, but i'm guessing Knights or Valkyrie would do well to take the place of the amulet and jewel. the Sigil of Energy could be replaced with something more appropriate for PvE, unless you're planning to use this in WvW.